By evening, the sounds of battle gradually subsided, but the noise of clamoring rose again.

In front of the Imperial City, a group of officials concerned about the nation were requesting an audience with the Princess.

"Princess, we, the ministers, request to see the Princess."

This is the rational faction.

"Regarding the identity of the Long Prince Consort Feng Manlou, we ask the Princess to give an explanation to the court officials."

This is somewhat more radical.

"There are demons in the country, which will surely bring great disaster."

This is a bit more radical.

"We ask the Princess to issue a decree to the world, proclaim the crime, and hunt down the demon Feng Manlou."

This is... someone courting death?

Immediately after he spoke, a space cleared around him.

Whether the Princess was broad-minded, the ministers couldn't say, but the Great Venerable was definitely not, and had no boundaries. If the Great Venerable knew, this person and anyone close to him would likely face trouble.

This is being enemy to the Great Venerable, and you actually dare to say it out loud!

Sitting in meditation in Nanli Palace, the Princess opened her eyes, her pupils stained with a red light, filled with fierceness.

Given her strength, though the palace gate was far, she could hear the sounds perfectly well, not to mention that all the officials had cultivation, each with a notable voice.

"Get rid of this bunch of fools..."

The Princess instinctively wanted to send a certain son-in-law to solve the problem, as he was the one who caused the mess, but halfway through speaking, she abruptly stopped.

"Truly muddle-headed."

Clearly, she was angry because a certain Dragon King son-in-law had left, yet she instinctively ignored his departure.

The Princess smirked self-deprecatingly, then raised her voice: "Someone, summon Jiang Sikong to Nanli Palace."

The old adage says the younger brother should cover for the older brother's mistakes. The Ji Family's son-in-law was gone, so let the Gongsun Family's son-in-law step up. At this point, the Princess also didn't care whether a certain son-in-law would expand his power because of this.

The palace maid standing outside immediately agreed and hurried away, her steps swift, evidently possessing impressive Qinggong.

The Princess didn't head to the main hall of Nanli Palace but waited in her room for Jiang Li's arrival.

But instead, she received news that Jiang Li had already left the Imperial City.

"Your Highness, Primordial Lord Rain Master said, Sikong left the Imperial City an hour ago for Qiong Mountain." The palace maid reported cautiously from outside the door.

"Gone to the Imperial College?"

The Princess's eyes shifted, understanding that Jiang Li had taken action in advance.

Going to the Imperial College, clearly, he intended to first resolve matters with the Sacrificial Officer, at least to ensure the Imperial College did not stand on the opposing side.

The Great Venerable's reputation is indeed a hundredfold worse than that of a certain inauspicious Daoist, so much so that even the Imperial College Sacrificial Officer wouldn't side with them. The Devil Cultivator's reputation is infamous, and the reputation of the Demon God Sect's Great Venerable is even worse. Jiang Li could only ensure that the Imperial College was not an enemy; this time, he couldn't make the Imperial College stand on his side.

Despite being backstabbed by the Imperial College previously, now he has to go speak nicely to the Sacrificial Officer again?

This deepened the Princess's resentment towards a certain person further; a great situation was ruined just like that.

······

······

"Sikong, please."

Atop Qiong Mountain, by a stone table beside the lake, the elder and the young man sat facing each other.

The spacious face of the Imperial College Sacrificial Officer, which seemed wider than most, had all four eyes open, staring straight at Jiang Li, while pushing a cup of tea towards him.

The dim red light of dusk shone on them both, yet only one shadow was cast on the ground, that of the Imperial College Sacrificial Officer.

"Standing upright without shadow, Sikong's realm has truly reached new heights."

The anomaly on the ground naturally did not escape the elder's four eyes; this was Cang Jie's double pupils, a characteristic of a Saint, whose eye power was certainly not to be underestimated.

The Sacrificial Officer lightly praised before saying, "Sikong, are you hoping for this old man to stand by? This is easily done; Earth Uncle wishes to support the Second Prince as a puppet, to make the world truly one family's world, which I refuse. Though I cannot support Sikong, I absolutely will not align with Earth Uncle."

In truth, the Sacrificial Officer wanted to support Jiang Li and the Princess, but unfortunately, while he could disregard fame, the Imperial College could not.

If the Imperial College were tainted by the Great Venerable's infamy, the reputation of Great Zhou's foremost academy would be ruined, so the Sacrificial Officer could only express that he was unable to help.

As for the cost of standing by, the Sacrificial Officer did not need Jiang Li to pay. This matter stemmed from his own intentions, with previous betrayals to be settled separately.

But Jiang Li came this time to settle matters.

"I come to ask the Great Sacrificial Officer to temporarily leave the Divine Capital,"

Jiang Li held the teacup, gently rotating it, leisurely said, "In Jiangnan, Daoism has become a trend, with the noble children practicing alchemy and drawing talismans, revering Shangqing. Though I come from the Mystic Sect, I do not favor this trend, so I wish to ask the Great Sacrificial Officer to take the students to Jiangnan, to correct this trend."

"The Great Sacrificial Officer can also bring Zhong Shenxiu along. I hear Brother Zhong has been promoting schooling in Liangzhou Province, educating without discrimination, and has scaled up, just right for going to the South, giving the poor family and commoners more hope for advancement."

Upon hearing this, the Sacrificial Officer's expression remained unchanged, only his eyes focused more intently, his voice slightly deeper, asking, "Is this the explanation Sikong seeks?"

"This is the explanation I seek," Jiang Li nodded, stating, "The Great Sacrificial Officer promoting education, the previous matters can be written off."

These wholly unexpected words sent the Sacrificial Officer into deep thought.

He had originally thought that Jiang Li was here to persuade the Imperial College to provide as much facilitation as possible. Even if the Imperial College Sacrificial Officer couldn't take the initiative to step forward, he could still express his stance through his disciples in a roundabout way.

Zhu Hui'an still has many friends and disciples in the court. The Great Sacrificial Officer has countless disciples all over the world, and in terms of connections, he surpasses Zhu Hui'an by far. If he spoke up, Jiang Li wouldn't say he was guaranteed victory, but he would be much more confident.

But Jiang Li's intention was not to seek assistance from the Imperial College, but rather to ask the Imperial College Sacrificial Officer to temporarily leave the Divine Capital, even if it meant putting an end to previous matters.

The Imperial College Sacrificial Officer's eyes revealed deep thought.

After a short while, he slowly said, "As for this matter, please allow this old man to give it some thought."

A seemingly simple request, but coming from Jiang Li's mouth, it necessitated deeper consideration.

Jiang's reputation for "treating people with sincerity" is now known throughout the world. Anyone who speaks with Jiang Li wishes they could split a single word into two halves, analyzing it bit by bit.

This is because even Jiang Li's truth can be deceptive. He does indeed treat people with sincerity, but only with sincerity.

"Well then, I'll take my leave. Please provide me with a response by tomorrow morning's court meeting," Jiang Li said.

Jiang Li expressed no opinions on this, not even a hint of the anger he felt from being backstabbed before.

Everyone knows Jiang Sikong's belly can hold a boat, unlike the small-minded Tianxuan, Gongsun Qingyue, Feng Manlou, Princess, and others.

Even if the Imperial College Sacrificial Officer had slightly tricked Jiang Li to welcome back the true emperor, he didn't mind at all and harbored no thoughts of revenge.

Jiang Li left just like that, without any unnecessary fuss.

After he left, Imperial Historian Xiao Zhi and Director of Music Ming Shaowei stepped out from the nearby bamboo grove to stand behind the Imperial College Sacrificial Officer.

"Teacher," Xiao Zhi looked at the cup of tea opposite the Sacrificial Officer, and said, "Jiang Sikong seems keen on having you leave the Divine Capital."

Although the tea cup was in hand, not a single drop was drunk, revealing subtle signs of opposition.

Perhaps only if the Sacrificial Officer agreed to Jiang Li's request would he drink that cup of tea.

The Imperial College Sacrificial Officer wasn't surprised by this. If Jiang Li could easily let go of being backstabbed, how could he not take this matter seriously?

This elder, having lived for over two hundred years, older than even the Great Venerable, watched Tianxuan's generation grow. Jiang Li's nature is almost like Tianxuan's, unwilling to suffer losses unless necessary.

If it makes him suffer, there must be a necessity.

"Jiang Sikong might be planning to deal with the Earth Uncle," the Sacrificial Officer said while eyeing the tea, "His Qi Dao cultivation is already at the peak of transformation, and his physical body and primordial spirit are not inferior. Though named fourth-rank, he is in reality third-rank. In the Yong Province battle, he has made significant progress, and Manjusri is likely dead at his hands."

At this moment, news of the Yong Province battle had not yet reached the Divine Capital, but the Sacrificial Officer had already surmised the outcome.

The Buddha Country must have been defeated; otherwise, Jiang Li wouldn't linger in the Divine Capital for long. Considering the timing of the battle and Jiang Li's enhanced strength, it can be concluded that Jiang Li likely repelled the Buddha Country with a decapitation tactic, namely by killing Manjusri.

If Manjusri weren't dead, given a third-rank strong person's survival ability, they could surely prolong the war to an exceedingly lengthy duration.

"Then shall we..." Director of Music Ming Shaowei showed hesitation.

He too couldn't determine whether to accede to Jiang Li's request.

Given Jiang Li's advancing strength and achievements, opposing him was unnecessary, though the Imperial College was not afraid of him.

The Sacrificial Officer's aim was to ensure the next successor to the Emperor Dao Fruit, for the true emperor to regain control over the Great Zhou. Matters unrelated to the Emperor Dao Fruit were not worth making enemies over.

However, if the Earth Uncle fell, next in line would likely be the Imperial College itself.

And given the current situation, dealing with the Earth Uncle would definitely cause turmoil in the Divine Capital, impacting the nation's stability with endless future troubles.

The two simultaneously looked at their teacher, awaiting the Sacrificial Officer's decision.

After a brief moment of contemplation, the Sacrificial Officer said, "I need to cast a divination."

The Imperial College also studies the Book of Changes. Naturally, the Sacrificial Officer was no stranger to the study of Yi. Though, theoretically, the Imperial College's "Book of Changes" extends from divination to human principles and is not focused on Echange Skill, the Sacrificial Officer could still create corresponding moves with the Book of Changes. How could he not understand the application of Echange Skill?

He took out three copper coins and a turtle shell, a relatively simple method of divination that surprised both the Imperial Historian and the Director of Music.

Because this is considered one of the most basic divination methods, somewhat unmatched with the Sacrificial Officer's stature.

The Sacrificial Officer understood his two disciples' doubts. As he placed the coins into the turtle shell, he explained, "Although I have considerable achievement in Yi Dao, my proficiency is absolutely inferior to Jiang Sikong's and the Gongsun Family Master's. Even attempting to divine on my own might not surpass the protective Qi Shu of the Ji Family and Jiang family."

Saying this, the Sacrificial Officer shook his head.

Being an affiliated son-in-law and owning a Qi Shu stronger than the family's is truly unique.

Even the Ji Family's prince is not as protected by Ji Family's Qi Shu as that Jiang Sikong, let alone he has other aspects of Qi Shu. Even if Jiang Li does nothing, his Qi Shu is enough to block the Sacrificial Officer's divination.

Therefore—

"Even a novice can attempt divination using the Six Trigram Array as long as they have the necessary texts. The movement of all things in heaven and earth follows certain rules, with traces left in the void. The Six Trigram Array aims to align coincidences with these traces to derive results."

The Sacrificial Officer shook the turtle shell, saying, "Instead of calling it a human calculation, it may as well be a celestial calculation. This method is to ask the heavens for divination. Since I can't rely on my own strength to divine, I can only ask the heavens."

Human calculation?

Celestial calculation!

Asking the heavens for divination, questioning the heavens, will the heavens truly compute?

Will the heavens truly answer the Sacrificial Officer's question?

Xiao Zhi and Ming Shaowei watched as the copper coins entered and exited the turtle shell several times, with divination lines appearing, each revealing a contemplative look.

And once the divination lines revealed themselves, the Sacrificial Officer looked up to the sky, his gaze profound and silent for a long time.

"Prepare yourselves,"

He stood up and instructed, "Send word to Shen Xiu, have him join us, and accompany this old man to the South."

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